The Maiden's Grave

By Stuart Lowe on Tuesday 06th May 2014 (12:35 PDT)

A mile or two from Beowawe I spotted a large white cross up on a hill marking a grave. I was expecting this because Thomas Stevens had mentioned it. It was erected by the men who built the railroad to mark the grave of Lucinda Parker Duncan. Stevens described her as a young emigrant woman who had sickened and died at this spot. The present day information board had a different tale to tell. It said she was a 71 year old grandmother who was travelling with her family from Missouri in 1863. She was considered "mother of the wagon train" as it consisted mostly of her seven children as well as their wives, husbands, grandchildren and other relatives. When she died, her family held a funeral for her and put her in what she thought was her last resting place. However, after Stevens, in 1906 it was reportedly moved a short distance to its current spot. Around Lucinda's cross, there are now quite a few more graves that have been added in the years since.